Artificial intelligence for companies in Mainfranken

How can artificial intelligence be successfully transferred into business practice? And what are the prerequisites for successful implementation, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)?

These questions will be addressed in the public panel discussion "KI-Regio im Dialog: Artificial intelligence for companies in Mainfranken" (in German language). It will take place on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, from 14:30 to 15:30 in the Audimax of the University of Würzburg at Sanderring 2.

Politics, business and science in dialogue

Representatives from politics, business, associations and science will be discussing on the podium:

• Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister of State for Science and the Arts
• Christine Völzow, Managing Director of the vbw - Bavarian Industry Association
• Frank Schmähling, Chairman of the Board of memo AG
• Prof Dr Richard Pibernik, Head of the Chair of Logistics and Quantitative Methods in Business Administration at the University of Würzburg and Project Manager of KI-Regio

The event will be moderated by:

• Ivo Knahn, Editor-in-Chief of the Main-Post newspaper
• Frank Müller, Head of Studio Mainfranken at Bayerischer Rundfunk

Focus on transfer, application and regional value creation

The event is part of the KI-Regio project. Its aim is to make successful transfer approaches visible and promote dialogue between relevant stakeholders. In particular, it addresses the question of how data-based technologies can contribute to increasing efficiency, competitiveness and sustainable value creation in the region.

Deepening through practice-orientated workshops

After the panel discussion, there will be a get-together in front of the Audimax from 15:30. From 4.30 pm, the companies V-Audience and Clye & BlueTomato will offer two parallel workshops (in German language) aimed at companies and providing concrete application references.

• In the workshop with Dr Toni Wagner from V-Audience, participants will learn what an AI agent is, what it can do and how it can be built. If you would like to take part, you must register via this link. Places are limited to 20.
• The workshop with Clye & Blue Tomato has the topic "AI in SMEs: what really works - and what is guaranteed to fail" including a live demo "Experience AI in action". Participants will find out which do's and don'ts they should pay attention to when introducing AI in their company in order to optimise and automate operational processes. Register via this link; there are 20 places available.

Background: KI-Regio

Launched in 2024, the KI-Regio project aims to enable small and medium-sized enterprises in the Mainfranken region to harness the potential of artificial intelligence and thus strengthen regional value chains. The focus is on transferring new digital technologies, in particular AI-based processes for utilising regional data, to a network of companies. The aim is to improve the competitiveness of regional suppliers, achieve ecological effects through shorter transport routes and optimised processes and achieve economic effects in the form of income security and job stability.